MATTHEW 'STYMIE' BEARD BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Matthew 'Stymie' Beard was born on January 1, 1927 in Los Angeles, California.  He was the son of a minister, Matthew Senior and his mother's name was Johnnie Mae Beard.  He lived in East Los Angeles and had thirteen brothers and sisters.  At the young age of three he entered a contest and out of 350 children, he was chosen to replace Allen 'Farina' Hoskins in Hal Roach's "Our Gang" comedies.  His first two-reeler, "Teacher's Pet" (1930) earned him the nickname Hercules and thereafter he was known as 'Stymie' for his innocent persona off set. The director of "Our Gang" Robert McGowan was always frustrated by Matthew's curious ways wondering around the studio when not working and therefore hence his nickname "Stymie".  He also worked on such series as,  "Fly My Kite" (1931), "Dogs Is Dogs" (1931), "Free Wheeling" (1932), and "Mama's Little Pirate" (1935).  His paycheck was used to support his large family, and various members of his family actually had a chance to appear on the "Our Gang"series at different times.

He quickly moved up to be admired as one of the most popular "Our Gang" kids.  He appeared in over 36 "Our Gang" shorts. His onscreen oversized derby hat, a gift from comedian Stan Laurel became his trademark.

His first major Screen Credit was in, "Little Daddy" (1931) and then in 1935 began working primarily in the film industry.  He began with being cast for small roles in,

"Captain Blood" (1935) starring Errol Flynn, "Jezebel" (1938), "The Great Man Votes" (1939) and "Stormy Weather" (1943) starring Lena Horne.
 
In 1945 he chose to drop out of high school and got associated with a bad crowd of people. He became involved in drugs and was in and out of jail for the next two decades.  However, in the 1960's he managed to turn his life back in the right direction.  He admitted himself to the drug rehab organization Synanon to fight his heroin addiction, and by 1970 he was ready to return to the entertainment world.   His first appearance back in the 70's was, " The Buddy Holly Story" (1978) and he even returned to television working on the TV series, "Good Times" and "The Jefferson's".   Beard also had guest spots on television's "Maude" and "Sanford and Son".   His final role was in "East of Eden" (1981) starring James Dean, as a bawdy house pianist.
 
Beard also took time out of his schedule to travel around the country and give lectures on drug abuse awareness.  Beard was living in Los angeles, Califorina when he suffered a stroke two days after his 56th birthday in 1981, sustained head injuries, and died of pneumonia on January 8, 1981. His fans will always treasure him for his innocent emotional eyes, comedic double takes and childhood antics.

Filmography 

2002 That's Black Entertainment: Westerns 
1981 The Sophisticated Gents 
1981 East of Eden 
1980 Pray TV 
1979 The Little Rascals Christmas Special 
1979 Backstairs at the White House
1979 Diff'rent Strokes The Adoption 
1979 The Jeffersons A Short Story
1978 The Buddy Holly Story 
1977 Good Times The Evans Get Involved 
1976 Disco 9000 
1976 Good Times The Big Move
1974 Truck Turner
1945 Fallen Angel
1943 Stormy Weather
1940 The Return Of Frank James
1939 The Great Man Votes
1938 Jezebel
1939 The Great Man Votes
1931 Little Daddy
1935 Mama's Little Pirate
1933 Hi'-Neighbor!
1933 Bedtime Worries
1932 Mush and Milk
1932 The Kid from Borneo
1932 Free Eats
1932 Readin' and Writin'
1932 Spanky
1932 Hook and Ladder
1932 Free Wheeling
1932 Birthday Blues
1931 Fly My Kite
1931 Dogs Is Dogs
1931 Helping Grandma
1931 Love Business
1931 Big Ears
1931 Shiver My Timbers
1931 The Stolen Jools
1930 Mamba
1930 Hallelujah!
1930 Teacher's Pet
1930 School's Out
1929 Hearts in Dixie
1929 Show Boat
1927 Uncle Tom's Cabin
1927 My Best Girl